Child's Allowance
by Neo Diji
Summary: A what-if theory. Is there a way to supply Alphonse with a flesh body without the Philosopher's Stone, or are all acts of forbidden human transmutation doomed to fail? Oneshot. Brotherly love. No pairings.


Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.

Please keep in mind that this is only a "what-if" theory. There are no pairings; there _are_ spoilers.

Originally posted 7/28/06.

*/*

Child's Allowance

*/*

"Hey, Al?" Edward Elric called, catching the attention of his younger brother.

The suit of armor that housed Al's soul turned to the short blond expectantly. "Yes, Brother?" The younger Elric's voice echoed within the armor, making the sound tinny as it traveled through the air.

Edward mentally flinched, even though he had gotten used to his younger brother's armored body in the years since the failed human transmutation. He didn't want to think he was getting used to it, and the thought that he might be sent a wave of guilt crashing on his conscience. It was his fault Al was without his human body; therefore, it was up to him to fix things and make his younger brother happy. "I've been thinking," he said slowly, tapping a pencil against his chin.

"Go on," Al urged, always eager and supportive towards his brother's theories.

Peering at Al through the corner of his eye, Ed hesitantly spoke of what had been on his mind the past few days. "Do you remember, back when we were kids," he started, meaning the time before the Incident, "when we were preparing everything to bring Mom back?"

Alphonse nodded, trying to understand where his brother was going with this line of thought.

"The problem came when we tried to exchange our blood for her soul," Ed continued, a glazed look in his golden eyes as he reminisced.

The younger Elric nodded slowly. "Okay…what does that have to do with anything, Brother?"

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ed looked up. "We had the body components right. I was just thinking, maybe we could _make_ you a makeshift body until we find your real one. If we just modify the proportions of elements from an average adult to the average teenager, I'm sure we can make you a flesh and blood body. We can transfer your soul to that body, and that way, at least you'll be able to feel things again! We just need to refine our research and study some anatomy books. Be a bit more focused on the transmutation, have tighter control of the whole experiment. We could do it, Al!"

Alphonse just stared. "Ed!" And he only called his brother "Ed" when he was upset. "I'd thought you'd learned what disastrous results come about from dabbling in human alchemy! It's too risky; there are way too many factors that could backfire. We don't want a repeat of last time, Brother."

Ed glared defiantly. "We're older and wiser now, Al. And we've grown as alchemists. We're capable of a lot more than when we were kids."

"Older, but definitely not wiser," Al half-agreed. "There has _never_ been a case of successful human transmutation! I mean, especially without the Stone, we're doomed to fail. If you're even thinking of going through with this chancy plan…" He let the threat hang in the air between them. And Al was usually the more optimistic one. It was just that his older brother was so stubborn sometimes! And, despite everything the brothers had been through, Ed still acted childish and irrational. But Al was cautious enough for the both of them; besides, this was _his_ soul they'd be messing with. Again.

Ed huffed indignantly beside him. "Don't you trust your older brother, Al?" he wheedled. Without waiting for an answer, he started reciting, "Okay, so that's 35 liters of water for the average adult, so to scale it down to the right amount for a teenage body…"

"ED! Stop!" Al commanded, pleaded. "Please, Brother. At least ask the Colonel and Major for their advice. They're both capable alchemists. Get some more opinions before you dive into this new plan."

The blonde shook his head. "Nah, Al. This involves the two of us. It's up to _me_ to fix things, and only me. I'm not dragging anybody else into it. Besides, I know exactly what they'd say. Mustang would start talking about how such a project would be too big for the likes of me, AND I AM NOT SMALLER THAN CHALKDUST THAT'S LEFTOVER FROM AN ARRAY!" he yelled, reacting to an imaginary scene. "Then he'd get all serious and tell me that it's too dangerous, so I'd be better off putting it from my mind. 'Fullmetal, you can't possibly think you could actually pull this off, do you?' And blah blah blah…and Major Armstrong would rip off his shirt, flex his muscles, and say something about how brotherly love has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations or some such nonsense and then he'd—" He never got to finish what Major Armstrong would say since he was interrupted.

"Brother," Al said, gently but firmly. "Enough. It's too dangerous. Let's just try to find a way to get my old body back, all right?"

"I can attach your soul to a flesh body, though," Ed insisted. "At least it would be better than the armor. Al, I just want you to be comfortable. It'll be easy. We can gather the ingredients easily enough, and the rest is just careful research. And guts and nerve."

Al chimed in, "And stupidity." He paused a moment before presenting his strongest argument, "Brother, even Mom's body didn't turn out right."

Edward stiffened over his notebook, pretending not to hear.

Continuing, Al said, "Even if you put together all the ingredients of a human body, there's still no guarantee that this will work. Mom's soul backfired, but we didn't even get her body back the way it was supposed to be! And we had everything thought out back then, too. There are just too many negatives to proceed with this crazy idea!"

Still focused, the blonde explained in a strict tone, "Alphonse, her body probably got put together inside out because of the lack of soul to hold it together properly. This time, we don't have that variable to worry about. Nothing will interfere."

"That's just a possible theory! Are you really willing to jeopardize my soul for something so iffy?" Al asked in a higher-pitched voice than usual.

"I'm willing to do everything I can to get your body back, Al! And in the meantime, if it means you'll be able to live normally, I'll make you another flesh body to tide us over until we find the Philosopher's Stone!" Ed exclaimed in a determined, and desperate, voice.

The soul within the suit of armor let out a longing sigh. "Please, Brother?" he almost weakly pleaded.

Ed just glared and continued to jot down some notes, persistently ignoring his younger brother's protests to this new development. He was dead-set on his new plan and focused, immersed in his work. This time, he vowed, nothing would go wrong.

*/*

Weeks later, after Ed had finally persuaded Al to agree, they had refined the details of the experiment in every manner possible. They had all the elements of the human body set out in the middle of the array, measured carefully in proportionate amounts. The issue of a soul didn't arise since they already had the soul; it was merely the physical aspect they needed.

It had taken a great deal of effort, but Al had caved in at the end, never able to resist his brother very long. Even when he knew Ed was being unreasonable, sometimes the elder Elric just couldn't be stopped. This was one of those times, and Al finally let himself start to believe in such a risky idea. Edward _was_ the Fullmetal Alchemist, and the brother he had hero-worshipped since he was a baby. Ed had to know what he was doing, and slowly, Al started to trust him with this unexpected turn of events.

Confident in himself, Ed grinned at his younger brother, clapped his hands, and slapped them on the precise, carefully drawn transmutation circle. The two alchemy prodigies had gone over everything, had prepared for any possible mishap.

As the two brothers realized, there were three parts to a complete human: body, mind, and soul. They had the mind and soul; they were missing the body. And out of the three, the body should have been the easiest to regain. The tangible quality should have made it that much more simple to grasp. The logic was simple; the experiment was not.

It was only when the transmutation started to go horribly wrong that they realized there was nothing humanly possible that could help them escape the Gate. And the consequences.

The Gate didn't make allowances for the alchemists who dared trod in forbidden territory, no matter what age or level of innocence. Black hands latched onto anybody presented, young or old; young or old, they had made the mistake of committing the worst alchemic taboo. And even if the Gate didn't take note, for all pretenses of maturity and adulthood, Edward Elric was still considered a child.

*/*

A/N: Inspired by episode one when Ed tells Rose in the 2003 anime, "And all those ingredients can be bought on a child's allowance. There's no magic to it." And my own weird theories (and poetic justice), and what's known of the Gate. I'm not sure if such an idea would actually result in a flesh body for Al, so I'm leaving it open to reader interpretation. All I know is that, as with every human transmutation, there must be sacrifices.

And I know that, with the reference to Trisha's body, her human shape formed with the help of a Red Stone. But, would a Red Stone be useful to anything but a Homunculus? And would this experiment turn Al into something like a Homunculus? Only theories. It was a fun idea to work around, but I don't have all the answers. So this is just a "what-if" oneshot. I have nothing in mind for a sequel.


End file.
